1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for hard-copying Web pages, method for printing display screens, system for hard-copying Web pages, and Internet connection device equipped with current-position detection capabilities. More particularly, it relates to a method for hard-copying Web pages, method for printing display screens, system for hard-copying Web pages, and Internet connection device equipped with current-position detection capabilities which will allow the user to obtain hard copies of Web pages readily even if no printer is connected to the Internet connection device used for browsing Web pages.
2. Related Art
Portable telephones, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), and Internet appliances, which are either difficult to connect with a printer or normally used without a printer connected to it, cannot obtain hard copies of Web pages promptly while browsing them on the Internet. Generally paper is easier for users to handle than a display. Besides, the display of portable telephones and the like is smaller in size than that of personal computers, making it necessary to scroll the screen in order to view an entire Web page. On the other hand, paper, on which an entire Web page is printed, is more convenient for viewing the entire page. Therefore, users often want hard copies of Web pages they are browsing.
If a user wants a hard copy of a Web page that he/she browses on an Internet connection device to which no printer is connected, he/she must memorize or write down the Universal Resource Labor (URL) of the Web page and accesses the URL again later by means of a personal computer connected with a printer and prints out the Web page on the printer. In this case, the user must have a personal computer and printer.
Some Internet service providers offer a service of outputting files received from users via the internet, to a predetermined facsimile (fax) machine. In this case, users must create and send files in the format specified by the service providers, such as text format or Graphic Interface Format (GIF), using their own personal computers. In addition, a single file in a single format produces one fax output. It is not possible to output a display consisting of two or more files in different formats such as Hynpr Text Markup Language (HTML) format and GIF format, which is the case with a Web page, on a single sheet of paper. The item for fax transmission request can be, for example, characters or an icon.